C I R C U S
by dansingglowstix
Summary: If foolish love is the best of all, who could be better at it than a bunch of fools? Highschool AU


_**Hiyah! ^_^**_

_**This is a side story I'm doing while I get my other fic "The Wildcard" together. I've never really written a high school story so I figured, what the hay? **_

_**"Circus" is going to be focusing on the pairing HinataNaruto (dur xDD) and SakuraSasuke, though I'm going to be focusing mostly Hinata's troubles in the beginning, thus thrusting HinataNaruto into the spotlight for now.**_

_**Hope you enjoy!**_

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**0o..C I R C U S..o0**

_If foolish love is the best of all, who could be better at it than a bunch of fools? Highschool AU_

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"We're going to have so much fun this weekend Hinata-chan, I just know it!" the dark haired girl looks up at her best friend Sakura. She's walking with a bounce in her step, head high and smiling as her short pink locks dance behind her in the wind. Hinata can't help but envy the other girl. Sakura's confidence makes her beautiful, much more so than she can ever hope to be. She is ugly, a washed out excuse of a girl, and she always will be.

The warm feeling of an arm draping across her shoulders shatters her daydream of Sakura as a beautiful princess and herself the hideous dragon keeping her trapped within a castle. Hinata already knows the limb belongs to Sakura; who else would want to touch someone like her? She tries her best to listen to Sakura's babbling, knowing her friend has sensed her inner-conflict and is trying to cheer her up without making it obvious. It takes ten more minutes for them to reach school. Sakura suddenly stops talking, as if the breath has been stolen from her lungs. Hinata doesn't have to wonder about the phenomenon long, however. Dark hair, pale skin; it's Uchiha Sasuke.

He's on the other side of the parking-lot, hands shoved into the pockets of his skinny jeans and a cigarette hanging boldly from his lips. Sakura's fingers twitch with the need to entwine with his. She wants to go to him, but Hinata knows she won't without a little coaxing.

"Go ahead," she says quietly, "I'll be fine." Sakura bites her lip in uncertainty.

"Are you sure? I don't mind staying."

Hinata feels guilty at these words. If she were in Sakura's place, she probably would have left without a second thought. She nods a shy affirmative, causing Sakura to grin so wide her face seems close to splitting.

"You're the best Hinata-chan!" they hug and Hinata wants to tell her that no, she is not the best, not by a long-shot, but ends up silently watching Sakura's back as the pink-haired girl runs to her not-quite boyfriend. He frees a hand so she can latch onto it, and leads her toward the football field, no doubt to do unmentionables under the bleachers for the first few hours of school.

Hinata scales the front steps of Konoha High alone.

She glides through the hall like a wandering spirit. People shove her accidentally and step on her toes. No one stops to say sorry because she's invisible, so how are they supposed to know they've hurt someone? Hinata wrinkles her nose at the stench of stale urine that fills the air as she nears her locker. She and Sakura had to request ones directly beside the boys' restroom to make sure they were neighbors.

She gathers her Vocal Music, Music Appreciation, Orchestra, and Sound Editing folders, shoving them into her smiley face tote that holds only a few pencils and an eraser. Since it's their last semester in high school, both girls had decided to take only electives. They have all the credits they need so why not have some fun? Sakura's classes all have something to do with art; her passion.

Hinata is on her way to homeroom when the only person she doesn't want notice her does. A girl with messy red hair, revealing clothes, and a vicious smirk saunters up to her, hips swaying.

"Well well," she adjusts her black, rectangular glasses, "if it isn't my favorite little mouse. Where's your freak of a friend? Somewhere getting an STD from that creepy boyfriend of hers I assume." the posse of girls hovering behind her laugh until she flashes them an irritated look. Hinata keeps walking, hoping that perhaps if she doesn't say anything, Karin will go away. She can see the door to Kurenai-sensei's room up ahead. Just a few more feet and she'll be there.

"Oh no you don't," Karin grabs her long tresses and jerks her back, "we aren't finished with you yet." she bites her lip, wishing that she hadn't told Sakura to go ahead. Her best friend is the only girl in the entire school that Karin and her clique fear, most likely from that time they fought freshman year and Sakura almost sent the red-head to the hospital.

Hinata's bag flies from her shoulder as her butt connects painfully with the floor. It slides across the tiles, nearly tripping a blonde boy who's rushing by. The girls surround her. They don't physically hurt her, as to not face the wrath of Sakura (they're sure Hinata doesn't have the balls to tell, figuratively speaking of course), but their harsh words bring tears to Hinata's eyes. If only she weren't so weak, if only she were more like her best friend, if only-

"Hey, what you do think you're doing!" it's the boy that almost fell. He's standing there with her tote in his hands, eyes blazing in anger. Hinata lowers her head, thinking that he must be upset with her because he almost go hurt and it was _her_ bag that did it.

"Who are you?" Karin sneers.

"Yeah, who are you!" she flashes her posse another annoyed look.

"I don't need a damn echo."

"Yeah, she doesn't need a damn...ho wait." the girls give each other confused glances. Obviously, they did not compute.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and you shouldn't be picking on anyone like that, Dattebayo!" Hinata looks up in surprise. He's defending..._her_?

"What are you," Karin asks with an eyebrow raised, "some kind of idiot?" her lackeys all open their mouths, but shut right up after one dirty glare from their leader.

"No, but I _am _the principal's grandson, so maybe we should move this along?"

Karin grumbles about how Tsunade doesn't scare her, but nevertheless, struts away with a flip of her hair and her mindless minions trailing behind her. Hinata tenses as the blonde boy, Naruto, kneels before her. He offers a friendly smile.

"Hey, are you okay? Those bitches won't bother you anymore as long as I'm around!" Hinata blinks...and then blinks so more...then bell rings...then she faints.

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Sakura absently fingers Sasuke's midnight-blue hair as he trails butterfly kisses up her neck. Her back is pressed against an uncomfortable metal pole, and she can feel his hands wandering under the fabric of her shirt.

"I'm not going to be able to come over tonight." he pulls away from her, disapproval shining in his onyx eyes.

"...Friday night is always movie night." she sighs and runs a hand through her choppy pink tresses.

"I know, but I'm spending the weekend at Hinata's. Her bastard dad is going to be on a business trip until Tuesday." he frowns deeply, scrunching up his eyebrows.

"Doesn't her cousin live with them?"

"Yeah," Sakura rolls her eyes, "but it's not like I'm going to strip naked and prance around his room or something."Sasuke's grip on her arm tightens, causing her to hiss in pain. He quickly snatches away and mutters an apology.

She simply nurses her bruised skin, refusing acknowledging his presence any longer. He grabs her chin to force her to look at him, but she pulls away and glares at an empty spot over his shoulder.

"Look Sakura, I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever." she walks away, leaving him alone and half clothed under the bleachers.

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"...ata-chan, can you hear me? PLEASE DON'T DIE!"

When Hinata comes to, the blonde boy is weeping over her. She reaches out, mind still hazy, and pats him awkwardly on the arm.

"There there," she slurs quietly, "it'll be alright." she doesn't know what made him so sad, but she doesn't like the way he looks when he cries. He perks up and smiles so brightly that she's actually blinded for a second or two.

"You're alright!" he then proceeds to hug her until her eyeballs feel like they're about to pop out of their sockets. She tries to tell him that he's holding on too tight, that she needs air, but he can barely make out her small voice.

"Hmm, what did you say Hinata-chan? I can't hear you; you're so quiet!"

"...an't breathe." his eyes widen and he quickly releases her.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry Hinata-chan, please forgive me!"and he's wailing again. Hinata takes a moment to catch her breath before assuring him that she isn't upset.

"Oh wow, you're pretty AND nice!" her, pretty? She feels her cheeks heat up.

"Thank you. How...do you know my name?"she's surprised when his own face burns red.

"The nurse told me, I'm not a stalker, I swear!" he scratches the back of his neck, smiling nervously. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto by the way."

"Well it's very nice to meet you Naruto-kun," she feels a smile tug her lips when he brightens up again, "how long have I been unconscious?"

"Eh, a few hours? It's almost time for first lunch." Hinata sits up abruptly on the uncomfortable white cot, wincing as a sharp pain travels up her spine to her head.

"I have to go," she stutters weakly, "my friend is probably worried sick." bad things happen when Sakura gets worried.

..._Very_ bad things.

She presses her feet on the floor and shifts all her weight to her legs before he can stop her. They feel like jelly underneath her. Before she realizes what's happening, she's tumbling downward. Naruto tries to catch her, but he's not the most graceful of people himself. Nurse Shizune returns from her lunch break to find them groaning on the floor in a tangle of limbs. She raises an eyebrow.

"So...I see Hinata-san is awake." both teens look decidedly guilty.

"Ano, it's my fault. I was trying to leave but I'm not quite ready. Naruto-kun just wanted to stop me."

"Good thing he succeeded then," the dark-haired woman gives them an amused smile that causes their shoulders to droop in relief, "could you kindly get back up on the cot so I can take your vitals?" she tries not to laugh as they struggle to undo their human knot. Hinata is so embarrassed she wants to die, and Naruto is spitting more curses than she knows even exist. Finally, after what have to be the worst few minutes of her young life, she settles back onto the flimsy bed that creaks under her weight.

"I'm going to check your pulse; try to remain as calm as possible." the stethoscope feels cold against her chest, and it reminds her of the day-trip she took with Sakura to the beach last summer.

The coast is two hours away, so they have to pull over a lot to give Sakura's crap car a chance to cool down. On one of the breaks, they get into a water fight with their _Aquifina _bottles and a group of guys in a jeep honk their horn and whistle as they pass by. Sakura tries to convince her it's because she looks hot in the dark blue bikini top she wishes she weren't even wearing, but she doesn't believe her.

When they finally get there, it's mid-day. The blazing hot sun beats down on their exposed skin, reminding them both of the fact that Sakura had forgotten the sunblock at home. The heat keeps anyone else from coming and, after a bit of prodding from Sakura, they both strip off their bathing suits. The pink-haired girl scrambles onto the mound of rocks that border the ocean. She slips quite a few times, slicing her palms and the soles of her feet; she doesn't even seem to notice. With a wink in Hinata's direction, she dives from the tallest one into the waves. Hinata almost panics when she doesn't come to the surface straight away, but relaxes when a pink blob shoots of out the water a little ways out. She forgot how much Sakura loves to swim.

"Come on Hinata-chan," she calls, "the water's swell!"

She's hesitant, but her distaste for looking like a baby in front of her fearless best friend outweighs her fear. Before she knows it, she's diving in herself. The water feels like ice against her skin. So much so that she almost goes into shock on contact. She surfaces, only to be met by a miniature wave of water courtesy of Sakura. The sea salt burns her eyes and she's a bit winded, yet all she feels is as happiness that nearly sends her floating towards the heavens. They spend the rest of the day drowning each other with splashes. It's the most fun Hinata has ever had, even though they both get a nasty case of sun burn all over and can barely move for weeks.

She blinks back into the concious realm just as Shizune is telling her she should probably stay for another hour or so to make sure she doesn't feel dizzy when she tries to walk. Naruto offers to keep her company.

"It's my first day anyways, I'll just tell all of my teachers I got lost!"the nurse shakes her head, obviously disapproving of the lying that will take place, but she doesn't make him leave. Naruto spends the next 90 minutes by her side, chattering away and giving her his full attention on those rare moments where the conversation called for him to be silent.

For once, Hinata feels like the princess.

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_**I wanted to post this earlier and make it a little longer, but I kept changing things and taking stuff out. I was left with this. xDD**_

_**R&R!**_


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